


something sweet

by iwritegayshit



Category: Lobotomy Corporation (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:21:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26762032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwritegayshit/pseuds/iwritegayshit
Summary: “I just find you interesting!” There was a gleam in Carmen’s eye as she met Garion’s gaze.“Interesting?” Maybe Garion was interesting, at least to someone who worked at a job like this. Arbiters weren’t exactly something that one saw often. “So why did you decide to do this now?”cargari coffeeshop au / pre- game canon stuff.
Relationships: Carmen/Garion (Lobotomy Corporation)
Kudos: 16





	something sweet

**Author's Note:**

> OK SO this is another twitter request that i went a little bit crazy with so im posting it as a standalone :3c
> 
> enjoy yall ~ i hope u think this is good !!!

The coffee shop Garion frequented was going to close down. That was what the sign on the door said - the building was being foreclosed and would be sold to one of the Wings. It didn’t matter either way to her, besides the fact that she was accustomed to this one. But it was open today, so without worrying about it for much longer, she pushed the door open and entered the building.

“Good morning, Garion! What will we be having today?” came a voice from behind the counter.

The employee working today was the same one who had been there every time she had come in. She was a fresh-faced girl in her early 20s, who wore her hair pulled back in a ponytail. Her name tag was peeled and faded, to the point where it was difficult to discern what it originally said. At one point, however, Garion remembered, it had read ‘Carmen.’

She took a moment to stare at the menu. She never ordered anything besides Earl Grey, but something tugged at the back of her mind when she looked over the list of complicated drinks. She might as well.

“Vanilla chai latte.”

“Oho? Am I about to lose my easiest customer?” Carmen teased, and Garion felt a brief flash of some unnamed emotion that immediately evaporated when she saw that Carmen had retreated to make her tea.

Garion had been coming here for the past five years, but they had barely spoken two or three words to each other each time he came in. Even so, she felt a bizarre sort of respect for the curious barista. 

Carmen disappeared into the back room for a few moments, amidst the sounds of beeping and shuffling. Moments later, she emerged sans uniform, and brought two lattes brimming with foam to the table whilst balancing a paper bag in her dominant hand.

Garion stared into her cup. The tea had a tiny heart drawn on it with coffee grounds.

“I’ve been working on latte art. I’m not that good.” Carmen chattered, as if she was talking to an old friend.

Garion just… stared at the tea. Finally, she said, “Why did you decide to do this?”

“The latte art?”

“Sit down with me,” Garion clarified. 

“I just find you interesting!” There was a gleam in Carmen’s eye as she met Garion’s gaze. 

“Interesting?” Maybe Garion was interesting, at least to someone who worked at a job like this. Arbiters weren’t exactly something that one saw often. “So why did you decide to do this now?”

“I just didn’t have the opportunity before,” Carmen admitted. She was no longer looking into Garion’s eyes; the fierce stare was instead directed at whatever was inside the paper bag. She rummaged around inside it, and with a grin, pulled out a muffin.

“Hm…” Garion took the bag from her and looked inside. Despite not being particularly fond of pastries, she wasn’t going to turn down free food. She decided to take a scone. “I didn’t know you could give these away so easily.”

“They were just going to throw them out.” Carmen said. “They throw out so much food here.”

“What a shame.”

“Mmm…” Carmen had abandoned her muffin for now, and had taken a straw out of the bag. She pulled the wrapper from it, and folded it over itself, once and then again, until she had fashioned a five-pointed star from it.

“A star?” Garion indicated the paper.

“Yeah. Do you know how?” Carmen asked. 

Garion mused this over while sipping her tea. It was still pleasantly hot, but not scalding. The flavor was far too sweet for her, however. Carmen had already drained half her cup, and eaten most of her muffin, so she must find the sweetness pleasant. 

“I only know the basics,” Garion said.

“Here.” Carmen handed her another straw from the bag. Garion folded it in half, testing its rigidity. She had never used a straw wrapper for something like this - but perhaps Carmen had gotten in a lot of practice with them, working here. Maybe she did this as a hobby? She smiled softly at the amusing thought of Carmen with a large heap of paper stars on the counter in front of her. She ripped the wrapper from the star and got to work, quickly pushing this thought out of her mind.

“How’s this?” Garion held out a rather misshapen star.

“Hmm.” Carmen examined it. “Well, it has a lot of character.”

“You can be honest.”

“No, I like it!” Carmen said. “But more importantly, it’s good enough for what we’re going to do.”

“What’s that?” Garion asked.

“Are you finished eating? I’m going to show you something.”

\---

It took a little while. Since Carmen was still on the clock, she insisted on Garion cleaning up after herself and throwing everything away. However, it came as a surprise when Carmen took Garion’s hand and ducked behind the counter with her.

“We’re going out the back entrance, it’s faster that way,” she explained.

“Isn’t it a little risky letting me back here?” Garion asked.

“Well, my manager left me to close up shop,” Carmen said. “It’s just me here right now -- hurry, come on!”

Garion followed her. Outside, there was a sitting area, presumably for customers of the adjacent shops to come in the summertime. There were a few benches set up in a circle, with a sparse crop of trees decorated with hanging lights. Carmen led Garion through this area to a dead tree stationed in the back of it.

Impaled on almost every branch of the tree were paper stars - most of them fashioned from straw wrappers, but some made of more colorful types of paper. Garion stood there, trying to take it all in.

“Did you make all of these?” Garion asked.

“Yes and no. Some of the people I’ve taken here have helped me, and now you’re helping me too - here, put yours up, and wish for something.”

“I don’t think wishing gets anything done, really.” Garion said, without thinking.

But she hung her star up anyway, on one of the lower branches. Carmen followed suit, placing hers next to it. They swung next to each other in tandem for a moment.

“Well, I thought that before, as well. But I think that it’s nice to hope for something.” Carmen paused. “You know, my manager said that the tree out here would never bloom. He said it was going to be cut down, so I decided to make it bloom. I think that’s what I want to do after this place closes.”

“Work with trees?” Garion asked.

“No, do the impossible. Do things that have never been done before… ”

Garion smiled, despite herself. “I know that you said I was interesting, but you are _fascinating._ ”

Carmen stopped in her tracks at this commentary before clasping Garion’s hand in hers. She raised it to her lips and brushed her mouth against her knuckles before pulling away with a grin.

“We’re going to see each other again, I promise!” she said. 

Garion felt the skin on the back of her hand burning. Anything she replied with wouldn’t fit the gravity of the situation, so she just nodded.

“If that’s what you desire,” Garion found herself saying. It might be a promise she couldn’t keep, but standing there, underneath the tree filled with all of Carmen’s hopes and dreams, she couldn’t find any other words.

**Author's Note:**

> oh oh also my twitter is @hodlobcorp if you wanted to drop into my cc and say hi !! i am also still taking rq's so ~


End file.
